Red Alert

I still remember.
I had visited the neighbouring slum to gather some news about the condition of education in the settlement, for my college project. And I stumbled upon a piece of information, which loosened the blinds of my eyes and filled me with scepticism and a disgust for passive acceptance and mindless tolerance.

Duttabad is (one of)Asia's largest slum and is situated right behind my colony. Thanks to my Mom, I got enough access to human examples to accentuate my report. One of the houses(or shanties) had a feisty lady, aged around 28 or 29, who doled out private tuitions to kids of the slums, at a modest fee. I had finished questioning her about the local school there and educating her about the sarva shikshya abhiyan scheme of the central govt. Then she released the dam of pent up pains and discomfort caused to her and thousands and lakhs of people like her in the state, under the rule of the communist faction of CPI(M) for the last 30 odd years. She complained how the local 'party' goons snatched away the money guaranteed by a central govt scheme to pregnant mothers. It was a disillusioning experience for me. It had been a disturbing experience for her too, who's a mother of one. "We can't protest. They(the party cadres) openly threat us. We are staying under a rule of threat and compulsion. Even the media fears to report these incidents, lest they fall a prey an 'accident' masterminded by the red devils." I recalled that a few moments ago, when I went to meet the local councillor, he was clearly avoiding my questions pertaining to the level of education in the slum and monetary queries. So, that was the first time I felt the pulse of the so called CPM vote bank, first garnered up by decades of promise, support, effective leadership and fulfillment of dreams and then paralysed by a betrayal of trust accentuated by atrocities.

Clearly the Left's so long protected barricade has been breached by the TMC's Ma Maati manush members. I have some reservations, though about ms. Banerjee's potential to overturn the rule(or the lack of it) by the left. But the fading shine of red is a clear indication of the people's frustration gone awry and a general mood of anti-incumbency, a show of desperation and futility of people's aspirations. The local gundagardi has left the public fed up who desperately needs a messiahto treat them, not as empty walls. And in the centre, Left's self revered ideologies and its opposition to ascending steps planned by the Congress has no or less takers.

Today's transport strike presents two clear pictures. Subhash Chakrabarty had to first experience the rage of the transport owners. And the poor man cant do anything about it as it runs the risk of being bit again into its share of vote bank. And on the other hand, Mamata, the potential CM has requested transport owners from TMC's club to withdraw their decision and ply their vehicles on the streets of Kolkata.

Its sad! Very sad. Over 30 years of golden(umm... well) rule in West bengal has great chances to be stopped in its track by its own faults, whose examples are the ruins of Lalgarh, the anger still fuming in Singur, th ebruised Nandigram and the lakhs of Bengal dwellers gasping for a change.

Crimson burning...crimson fading

(The views have been expressed by an amateur in the field of political and social essays and should not be held responsible for any involuntary insensible comments, if any. This is the author's personal opinion and need not be the reaction at large)